"A Vigilant Nap", black and white charcoal pencils on gray toned paper, 4.5" x 7" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

A Vigilant Nap, Charcoal on Toned Paper

“A Vigilant Nap”, black and white charcoal pencils on gray toned paper, 4.5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski. The original is sold but prints are made in archival inks on I offer full-size giclee prints as well as a variety of digital and canvas prints.



"A Vigilant Nap", black and white charcoal pencils on gray toned paper, 4.5" x 7" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“A Vigilant Nap”, black and white charcoal pencils on gray toned paper, 4.5″ x 7″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This has become one of my most popular daily sketches, and it’s the one where I really feel I hit my stride with sketching in charcoal on the toned paper.

Yes, Giuseppe is napping, but it’s not a serious nap, it’s a vigilant nap. He’s on my worktable under the lights while I am at my drafting table and computer in my studio, and apparently he’s been assigned to keep an eye on me. They take turns at this, and it’s clearly a different nap from a curled-in-a-ball, or a cuddle with siblings because the attention must be on what is happening, and one must be able to awaken immediately. He lifts his head at every noise, or sometimes only opens to big golden eyes, assesses what, if anything, needs to be done, then puts his head back down on his paws. I see his ears swivel constantly, and when he open his eyes, even though he is facing away from me, I can see his whiskers shift upward and the shape of his forehead changes. I am so accustomed to this position of his—see also “Tonal Nap”, where he is just outside the door of the studio—that I sometimes look past him, but I also spend time studying him.

Also see other sketches on toned paper.

The framed print…

Framed sample.

Framed sample.

DAILY SKETCHES

I endeavor to do at least a small sketch each day as a warm-up to my aesthetic senses, so I have a small pouch of art materials and a few various sized sketchbooks available in the house and out. Usually, these are done in pencil, my first and favorite medium, though sometimes it’s charcoal, ink, colored pencil, ink and brush, whatever strikes my fancy at the moment, the greatest challenge to keep it quick and not get caught up in details, let the idea flow onto the paper.

Most often, the subjects are my cats because they are such willing models, though sometimes I’ll also wander afield, literally, and sketch in my yard or anywhere I go for errands. Medium and especially style vary just so I get a chance to do something new.

Every once in a while, they are meant for framing, and I’ve designed a series of notecards, notepaper and notepads using other daily sketches (see my notecards section). Often I use them as illustrations for graphics projects I’m designing.

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

“Follow” the Portraits of Animals blog with the link in the upper left. Sign up to receive posts in email, or in your favorite reader using the links in the right-hand column.

Sign up for e-newsletters

You can also sign up for my monthly e-newsletters to receive special discounts and find out where I’ll be with my artwork.

Click here for the Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter, for feline and animal-specific products and information.

Click here for the Art & Merchandise E-newsletter, for landscapes, nature, urban scenes and more.

For art, photos and writing as I develop it, visit my blogs.

See feline art and photos as they happen on The Creative Cat, along with feline news, health, welfare, rescue stories and more.

See daily photos as I post them on Today.

Read poetry, short stories, essays and more on Paths I Have Walked.

. . . . . . .

© 2022 | www.PortraitsOfAnimals.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “purchasing” for availability and terms.